Virginia Tech Football: Hokies Can Go to 3-0 in ACC With Win Over Wake Forest

Saturday is homecoming in Blacksburg, and Frank Beamer and the Hokies would love nothing more than to extend their four game winning streak to five games. Wake Forest isn't exactly a power house this year and the Hokies should have no trouble handling the Demon Deacons.

That being said, this is by far the most inconsistent Tech team in recent memory. One game they'll dominate and the next they can't move the ball. Even against Central Michigan, the Hokies didn't complete one third down conversion and had trouble keeping their offense on the field.

The Hokies either scored within the first five plays against the Chippewas or punted. Tyrod Taylor continues to carry the team and has been phenomenal on the ground and through the air. Taylor hasn't been talked about much on the national scale since losing to Boise State and James Madison but he's been dominating opposing defenses.

If someone had asked you who would be leading the Hokies in rushing at this point in the season you would have likely said Ryan Williams or Darren Evans. However, Taylor is the Hokies' leading rusher. He has 449 yards on the ground with two touchdowns, and he's averaging 6.2 yards per carry.

Williams has been out for three weeks and Evans and David Wilson have done a nice job filling the void, but Taylor has been the difference maker.

On top of his rushing statistics, Taylor has completed over 60 percent of his passes and thrown for nine touchdowns. The Hokies only rank 97th nationally in passing yards per game, but when your quarterback also leads your team in rushing that statistic becomes meaningless.

The Hokies offensive line has struggled at various points through the year, and often times their toughness is questioned. However, offensive lineman Greg Nosal lost his finger in last week's game against Central Michigan and decided he would just reattach the tip later when his services were no longer needed.

That's a pretty incredible story, especially considering the Hokies opponent, and you would like to see that toughness translate to better play from the rest of the line. The offensive line still needs to play more consistently and they have two more weeks to hit their stride before taking on the best the ACC has to offer.

The defense is also struggling at different points throughout the game. Central Michigan drove up the field with no resistance on their opening drive to go up 7-0, but the defense really buckled down after that.

However, there were still a number of missed opportunities, including a number of dropped interceptions. Wake Forest's passing attack isn't as potent as the Chippewas, but the Demon Deacons have a pretty good running game.

The good news for the Hokies is the Wake Forest offense is probably going to be forced to throw the ball for much of the game if they get down early. The advantage should go to Tech, and the Hokies should storm past Wake Forest on Saturday.